208 FARM FRIENDS AND FARM FOES 



especially adapted to the visits of moths and butterflies 

 commonly have their nectar deeply concealed where it 

 cannot be reached by most other insects. 



The great group of hawk moths or sphinx moths is one 

 of the most interesting from the point of view of pollina- 

 tion. By examining a beautiful Easter lily, one can readily 

 see the relation between these moths and the pollination of 

 such flowers. 



" If you remove one side of the white flower cup, you 

 will see that the pistil consists of a long style running the 

 whole length of the flower, with the sticky stigmas at the 

 end. Grouped on the sides are the stamens, which also 

 have long filaments tipped with the anthers at the mouth 

 of the flower. Evidently no other insects can get the 

 nectar at the base of the cup ; the sphinx moths are the 

 only ones adapted to derive benefit from such a blossom. 

 But for them the adaptation is perfect. The tongues of 

 the larger species will reach the honey, while their heads 

 come in contact with the anthers or stigmas and perform 

 the pollenizing office. 



" These moths are not day-fliers : they appear at dusk, 

 and during the early evening they shoot like meteors from 

 blossom to blossom, hovering hawklike in the mouth of 

 the flower, while the long tongue is inserted to extract the 

 hidden nectar. The immaculate whiteness of the lilies 

 renders them conspicuous in the twilight : they then shed 

 their perfume most abundantly, and, in some species at 

 least, produce the most nectar. These methods the lily 

 has developed to attract her pollen-carrying guests. The 

 latter also are assisted in the adaptation ; their long tongues, 

 the shape of their heads, their large eyes, all are useful to 

 the lily, while the swiftness of their flight and the business- 

 like way in which they utilize the few hours during which 



